Beyond his own record releases, he has collaborated with various artists, including The Handsome Family, Dosh, Fiona Apple, Madison Cunningham and Nora O'Connor.

In 2019, Andrew Bird was cast for the fourth installment of Fargo, playing, "a character, written specifically for him, named 'Thurman Smutney'.

[5] Trained in the Suzuki method from the age of four,[6] Bird graduated from Lake Forest High School in 1991 and Northwestern University with a bachelor's degree in violin performance in 1996.

Vastly different from his later work, this album showcased his violin skills and paid tribute to his fascination with both American and European folk traditions, as well as jazz and blues.

Following this, his initial commercial exposure came through collaborative work with the band Squirrel Nut Zippers, appearing on three of their albums (Hot, Sold Out, and Perennial Favorites) between 1996 and 1998.

Both albums were heavily influenced by traditional folk, pre-war jazz, and swing, with Bird relying on the violin as his primary musical instrument, as well as providing vocals along with his trademark verbose lyrics.

The Bowl of Fire featured musicians from Bird's hometown of Chicago, including Kevin O'Donnell, Joshua Hirsch, Jon Williams, Nora O'Connor, Andy Hopkins, Jimmy Sutton, Colin Bunn, and Ryan Hembrey.

[citation needed] Although gaining critical praise (The Swimming Hour received a 9.0 from indie music website Pitchfork[7]), the band failed to attain commercial success or recognition, playing to audiences as small as 40 people.

The reluctant Bird performed the gig alone, and the surprising success of this solo show suggested potential new directions for his music.

[citation needed] On May 10, 2004, Andrew appeared on the Woodsongs Old-Time Radio Hour where he performed "First Song" and "Action Adventure" both from the Weather Systems album.

As his sound changed, Bird made increasing use of guitar, glockenspiel, and whistling in his songwriting, in addition to his traditional violin and vocals.

In September 2006, Bird signed to Fat Possum Records, and in March 2007 he released his third post-Bowl of Fire album, Armchair Apocrypha.

The album was produced by Ben Durrant (who had worked on Dosh's The Lost Take), and also featured Haley Bonar and Chris Morrissey.

[14] In promotion of Armchair Apocrypha, Bird made his network television debut on April 10, 2007, performing "Plasticities" (from the new album) on the Late Show with David Letterman.

These appearances were accompanied by an extensive tour, which ended with sell-out performances at the Beacon Theatre, New York and the Orpheum Theater, Los Angeles.

[15][16] On May 20, 2007, National Public Radio aired a live concert by Bird from Washington, D.C.'s 9:30 Club[17] He also worked with Reverb, a non-profit environmental organization, for his 2007 spring tour.

He also discussed the conception of the song "Natural Disaster", the recording of instrumental piece "Hot Math", and previewed "Master Sigh".

[23] Bird's fifth solo album, Noble Beast, was released on January 20, 2009, and contained fourteen new songs, with bonus tracks available for download from iTunes and eMusic.

[24] A limited deluxe edition of the album included alternate packaging and artwork, as well as an all-instrumental companion disc entitled "Useless Creatures".

[25] In 2009, he contributed a cover of the song "The Giant of Illinois" to the HIV and AIDS benefit album Dark Was the Night produced by the Red Hot Organization.

Andrew Bird's first release for the label was the soundtrack to the film Norman, which included his original score as well as songs by other artists.

Andrew Bird: Fever Year also features Martin Dosh, Michael Lewis, Jeremy Ylvisaker, and St. Vincent (Annie Clark).

[38] In 2019, Andrew Bird was cast for the fourth installment of Fargo, playing, "a character, written specifically for him, named 'Thurman Smutney'.

[45] The same month, Bird kicked off the co-headlining Outside Problems tour with Iron & Wine, performed at outdoor venues across the United States.

Covers of their songs have appeared in several of his albums, including "When The Helicopter Comes", on Hands of Glory, "Tin Foiled", on Fingerlings 3, and "Don't Be Scared", from Weather Systems.

The album's liner notes contain a response from Rennie Sparks, the band's lyricist and singer: "Hearing Andrew's version of our songs feels like suddenly spotting a new and shining doorway in the midst of a room I have spent my life in.

The custom instrument features a lower C string (giving it the range of a viola), a unique scroll which bends backwards, and has no corners.

[54] For looping, Andrew Bird uses two Line 6 DL4 delay pedals: one for rhythmic pizzicato, and the other, "is dedicated to the ambient bowed strings."

Originally "supposed to be a lark, kind of a between records thing",[59] the Hands of Glory was an old-time band started by Andrew Bird.